Universal gaff guard

ABSTRACT

A universal guard assembly for the gaff of a climber, such as utilized by utility and telephone linemen. The guard assembly includes a telescopically adjustable clamp which is received on the leg iron of the climber, a generally cylindrical metal guard housing having a nonmetal, friction resistant insert which receives the pointed end of the climber gaff and a flexible, nonresilient strap which is secured at one and to the guard housing and releasably secured at the opposite end to the adjustable clamp.

United States Patent Smith [54] UNIVERSAL GAFF GUARD [72] Inventor:Kenneth J. Smith, 12101 West Rawson Ave., Franklin, Wis. 53132 221Filed: Aug. 4, 1970 211 App1.No.: 60,897

[52] US. Cl ..182/221 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63b 27/02 [58] Field ofSearch..182/221, 134

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,870,947 1/1959 Hendry182/221 1,981,755 11/1934 Serene ..l82/221 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P.Machado Attomey-Raymond E. Scott [57] ABSTRACT A universal guardassembly for the gaff of a climber, such as utilized by utility andtelephone linemen. The guard assembly includes a telescopicallyadjustable clamp which is received on the leg iron of the climber, agenerally cylindrical metal guard housing having a nonmetal, frictionresistant insert which receives the pointed end of the climber gafi anda flexible, nonresilient strap which is secured at one and to the guardhousing and releasably secured at the opposite end to the adjustableclamp.

11 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures UNIVERSAL GAFF GUARD FIELD OF THE INVENTIONClimbers are worn by hikers" to aid in climbing telephone and utilitypoles and trees. The term hiker" is used herein to identify all thevarious persons using climbers, including telephone and utility linemen,tree trimmers, etc. A climber includes a leg iron which is strappedagainst the inner calf of the hikers leg, beneath the knee, and astirrup which extends beneath the boot of the hiker, and is strappedaround the hikers ankle. The leg iron has a sharp pointed gaff whichsupports the stirrup as the hiker is climbing or descending a pole ortree. The safety of a hiker will therefore depend upon the sharpness ofthe climbers gaff, and gaff guards are required to protect the pointwhen not in use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART A common form of commercially availableclimber gaff guard includes a hard cap which receives the pointed end ofthe gaff and a wire clamp which snaps on the leg iron to hold the cap inplace. The guard is often knocked loose and lost when the hiker iswalking over rough terrain, or the wire is bent, requiring the hiker topry the clamp loose before climbing a utility or telephone pole. Anothercommercial fom-i of gaff guard includes a plastic or hard rubber sleevewhich is received over the pointed gafi and an integrally molded strapand clamp. These guards are often difficult to remove because the gaffmay frictionally bind in the sleeve position end the pointed and of thegaff wears relatively quickly through the plastic or rubber sleeve,exposing the gaff and rendering the guard useless.

The difficulty of removing conventional gaff guards in emergencysituations has resulted in a number of safety regulations which requirea hiker to remove his gaff guards when he may be required to renderassistance to an injured or unconscious hiker on a utility pole or tree,even when walking from one area to another. The time required to removethe gaff guards may be critical to a lineman who has been electrocuted,for example, and therefore the present commercial guards may constitutea safety hazard in such situations. Further, walking on an exposedclimber gaff dulls the pointed end requiring constant attention, whichmay also create a safety hazard if the gafi is not sharpened.

The gaff or spur guards shown by the prior art generally provide a metalcap or guard which results in a metal-to-metal cap or guard whichresults in a metal-to-metal contact with the climber gafi. This is notconsidered satisfactory because the metal contact tends to dull thegaff. Plastic gaff guards have not been found satisfactory because thegaff wears through the guard in a few weeks or months. Examples of thegaff guards shown by the prior art include the following US. Pat. Nos:2,296,074, 2,419,363, 2,497,710, 2,870,947.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The universal gaff guard assembly of thisinvention is particularly adapted to permit rapid removal of the climbergafi guard in the event of an emergency situation requiring the hiker toclimb a utility pole, or the like, and provide better protection for thepointed end of the gaff. The guard retainer clamp in the preferredembodiment of the gaff guard assembly is also adjustable on the climberleg iron to accommodate the various commercial designs of climbers andcompensate for wear of the gaff, providing a universally adaptableassembly. In the preferred embodiment, the clamp is telescopicallyreceived on the climber leg iron, permitting adjustment to accommodatethe length of the gaff. A flexible, nonresilient strap is releasablysecured to the clamp by a snap fastener or the like, which is securedadjacent the opposite end of the gaff guard.

The disclosed embodiment of the gaff guard includes a generallycylindrical metal housing preferably steel and open at both ends, and anonmetal, friction resistant insert which receives the pointed end ofthe gaff. The metal guard housing securely supports and retains thenonmetal insert and protects the climber gaff. The insert combines theadvantages of the metal gaff guards shown by the prior art with theadvantages of a plastic guard; the metal housing is preferably open atboth ends to permit inspection and replacement of the insert ifrequired.

The gafi guard of my invention is quickly and easily removed merely byunsnapping the strap from the adjustable clamp and pulling the guardfrom the climber gaff. The clamp is adjustable to accommodate thedecrease in the length of the gafi' as it is sharpened. The nonresilientstrap reduces the danger of losing the gaff guard when the hiker iswalking over rough terrain, where the gaff guard is important to protectthe gafi and hiker from gaffing. Further, the gaff guard of my inventioneliminates the spring members relied upon by the prior art to retain theguard on the gaff. The spring members in time lose their resilience andmay become fouled in the undergrowth normally found in the workingareas. The gaff therefore stays sharper, longer, saving the time andcost of resharpening and reduces the deaths and injury caused by the useof dull gaffs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of aconventional climber in combination with the universal gaff guardassembly of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the embodiment of the climber shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top cross-sectional view of the gaff guard assembly shown inFIG. 2, in the direction of view arrows 3-3; and

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the adjustable guard clampshown in FIG. 2, in the direction of view arrows 44.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiment of the climberassembly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a leg iron 20 which iscontoured to the inner calf of a hikers leg, as shown in phantom at 22in FIG. ll, stirrup 24 which is received beneath and supports the footportion 26 of the hikers boot, and a gaff 28 which may be integral withthe stirrup, or separate as shown. This embodiment of the leg iron isprovided with a telescopic sleeve 30 which is secured to the leg iron bya cotter pin 32 or the like to accommodate variations in the length of ahikers leg. The leg iron is normally strapped to the hikers upper calfby a conventional leg strap 34 and a pad 36 is provided to protect thehikers leg from chafing, etc., by the leg iron. The climber pad and legstrap may be secured as shown to the leg iron by various straps 38 to40, respectively, and the leg strap 34 in this embodiment is providedwith eyelets 42 and a buckle 44 to retain the strap in place. Thestirrup is strapped to the hikers ankle by a tongue and buckle 46 whichis received through the stirrup ring or clamp 48. It will be understoodthat the climber illustrated is only one of several commerciallyavailable climbers which vary in detail. One important difference to theuniversal gaff guard of this invention is the size and shape of theclimber gaff 28, which is longer in certain embodiments and may extendfrom the stirrup 24 at a greater angle than shown. The universal gaffguard of this invention is particularly adapted to protect the gaff ineach of these designs, without modification.

The embodiment of the gaff guard assembly of this invention shown inFIGS. 1 to 4 includes an adjustable guard clamp 50, a gaff guard 52 anda strap 54 interconnecting the clamp and the guard, and retaining theguard on the climber gaff 28. The gaff guard 52 includes a tubularportion 56 preferably open at both ends as shown in FIG. 1, whichreceives and retains the nonmetal, friction resistant insert 58. Thepointed end 60 of a climber gaff is normally tapered and triangular incross section and therefore the socket 62 in the nonmetal insertreceiving the end of the gaff is also preferably tapered and triangularin cross section, as shown in FIG. 3, to conform to the shape of thegaff. This embodiment of the gaff guard includes a channel-shapedportion 64, integral with the tubular portion 56, which overlies andprotects the gaff guard adjacent the pointed end. The channel-shapedportion may be secured to the strap 54 by any suitable means, such asthe rivet 66.

The gaff guard of this invention has several advantages over the guardsshown by the prior art. The pointed end of the gaff is received in anonmetal, friction resistant insert or plug 58, such as Nylon, whichdoes not dull the gafl and wears considerably better than the softerplastics or hard rubber guards. The insert may be retained in thetubular portion 56 of the metal housing by crimping, which compressesthe insert and further reduces wear or expansion of the insert. Thehousing is preferably formed from steel or other metal capable ofwithstanding shock of impact. Seamless steel tubing has been found mostsatisfactory, as well as cold rolled steel.

The body portion 68 of the clamp 50 is preferably C-shaped orchannel-shaped in cross section with inwardly projecting legs 70 asshown in FIG. 4, to retain the clamp on the leg iron and permittelescopic adjustment of the clamp thereon. in this embodiment, one ofthe legs of the body portion may be formed over the leg iron after theclamp is received on the leg iron. A two-part body portion may also beutilized, wherein the sections are riveted or otherwise secured afterassembly. The guard strap is releasably secured to the clamp, such thatthe strap and gafi' guard may be quickly and easily removed, asdescribed hereinabove. In this embodiment, the strap is secured to theclamp by a conventional snap fastener 72, the male portion 74 of whichis secured to the clamp body portion 68, as shown in FIG. 4, and thefemale portion 76 is secured to the strap. The snap fastener 72 ispreferably spaced from the end of the strap to provide a tab 78 whichmay be easily gripped by the fingers of the hiker to quickly remove thestrap and guard.

As described hereinabove, the guard clamp 50 is telescopicallyadjustable on the leg iron and in the disclosed embodiment the strap 54is flexible and nonresilient. The gaff guard 52 cannot therefore beremoved from the gaff unless the strap is released from the clamp,provided the clamp is adjusted on the leg iron to take up any slack inthe strap. This feature reduces the possibility of accidental loss ofthe guard or inadvertant exposure of the gaff. The clamp in thisembodiment is secured to the leg iron, after adjustment, by a threadedfastener 80 threadably received through the body portion 68 of theguard, against the leg iron. The threaded fastener may also be receivedthrough the male portion 74 of the snap fastener as shown in FIG. 4. Theclamp is adjusted by disposing the guard 52 on the climber gaff andpulling on the clamp until the strap 54 is taut. The strap is thenunsnapped and the fastener 80 threaded against the leg iron securing theclamp in place. It can be seen that the adjustable clamp will therebyautomatically compensate for variations in the design of the gaff and asimple readjustment will compensate for the shortening of the gaffcaused by sharpening. Further, the gaff guard may be quickly and easilyremoved in emergency situations, for example, merely by gripping the taband pulling; which unsnaps the strap and pulls the guard from the gaff.The strap may be formed from various materials including woven fabricsand plastic reinforced fabrics.

What is claimed is:

l. A universal guard assembly for the gaff of a climber, comprising, incombination: an adjustable clamp member telescopically received on theleg iron of a climber including a releasable securement means securingthe clamp member on the leg iron after telescopic adjustment, a gafiguard received over and substantially enclosing the pointed end of aclimber gaff and a flexible, nonresilient strap secured adjacent one endto said gafi guard and releasably secured adjacent the opposite end tosaid adjustable clamp member.

2. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 1, characterized inthat said gaff guard is a generally tubular metal housing having an openend receiving the pointed end of the climber gaff.

3. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 2, characterized inthat said tubular metal housing is open at both ends and includes afriction resistant, nonmetal insert having a socket which receives thepointed end of the climber gaff, preventing metal-to-metal contact.

4. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 1, characterized inthat said adjustable clamp member is generally C- shaped to permittelescopic adjustment of the clamp member on the leg iron and saidreleasable securement means is a threaded fastener threadably receivedin the clamp member, against the leg iron.

5. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 1, characterized inthat said strap is releasably secured to the clamp member by a snapfastener, permitting rapid removal of the gaff guard.

6. A universal guard assembly for the gaffofa climber, comprising, incombination: a metal, generally tubular gaff guard housing, open at bothends, a friction resistant nonmetal insert, secured within said tubularhousing, having a socket receiving and substantially enclosing thepointed end of a climber gaff, a clamp member secured to the leg iron ofthe climber and a strap secured adjacent one end to said clamp memberand adjacent the opposite end to said gaff guard housing.

7. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized inthat said strap is flexible and nonresilient and said clamp memberincludes an adjustment means adapted to permit adjustment of the clampon the leg iron of the climber.

8. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized inthat said clamp member includes a quick release securement means adaptedto releasably secure said strap.

9. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 8, characterized inthat said quick release securement means is a snap fastener.

10. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized inthat said clamp member is generally C- shaped and adapted to betelescopically received over the leg iron of a climber and includes areleasable securement means adapted to secure the clamp member on theleg iron after adjustment of the position of the clamp member.

11. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized inthat said gafi guard member includes a channel-shaped extensionreceiving said strap and adapted to overlie the climber gaff adjacentthe pointed end.

1. A universal guard assembly for the gaff of a climber, comprising, in combination: an adjustable clamp member telescopically received on the leg iron of a climber including a releasable securement means securing the clamp member on the leg iron after telescopic adjustment, a gaff guard received over and substantially enclosing the pointed end of a climber gaff and a flexible, nonresilient strap secured adjacent one end to said gaff guard and releasably secured adjacent the opposite end to said adjustable clamp member.
 2. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 1, characterized in that said gaff guard is a generally tubular metal housing having an open end receiving the pointed end of the climber gaff.
 3. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 2, characterized in that said tubular metal housing is open at both ends and includes a friction resistant, nonmetal insert having a socket which receives the pointed end of the climber gaff, preventing metal-to-metal contact.
 4. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 1, characterized in that said adjustable clamp member is generally C-shaped to permit telescopic adjustment of the clamp member on the leg iron and said releasable securement means is a threaded fastener threadably received in the clamp member, against the leg iron.
 5. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 1, characterized in that said strap is releasably secured to the clamp member by a snap fastener, permitting rapid removal of the gaff guard.
 6. A universal guard assembly for the gaff of a climber, comprising, in combination: a metal, generally tubular gaff guard housing, open at both ends, a friction resistant nonmetal insert, secured within said tubular housing, having a socket receiving and substantially enclosing the pointed end of a climber gaff, a clamp member secured to the leg iron of the climber and a strap secured adjacent one end to said clamp member and adjacent the opposite end to said gaff guard housing.
 7. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized in that said strap is flexible and nonresilient and said clamp member includes an adjustment means adapted to permit adjustment of the clamp on the leg iron of the climber.
 8. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized in that said clamp member includes a quick release securement means adapted to releasably secure said strap.
 9. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 8, characterized in that said quick release securement means is a snap fastener.
 10. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized in that said clamp member is generally C-shaped and adapted to be telescopically received over the leg iron of a climber and includes a releasable securement means adapted to secure the clamp member on the leg iron after adjustment of the position of the clamp member.
 11. The universal guard assembly defined in claim 6, characterized in that said gaff guard member includes a channel-shaped extension receiving said strap and adapted to overlie the climber gaff adjacent the pointed end. 